Indiana Jones and the accursed Scarab
by Cosplaygirl03
Summary: A new Tomb is found in the Valley of the Kings; a long lost sacred artifact is found. As Indiana tries to uncover one mystery, he ends up stumbling upon another. . . a discovery he should have left alone.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any rites to Indiana Jones, but please enjoy the story anyway.**

_**July 5, 1947**_

It was hot. It was awfully dry, and dreadfully hot. The sun scorched the tops of the desert sands mercilessly, frying up anything that had no way of protecting itself from its harmful rays. At the archeologist's campsite in Cairo, Egypt, it seemed that everyone was doing their best to get the work done and to stay in the shade given to them by the white canvas tents. Off to the far corner of one of the smaller tents, was a man crouched down on his haunches. Taking a bit of a breather, he removed his leather fedora, and wiped the sweat from his brow; his brown eyes peered over the horizon to see where in the direction the sun would set.

"2 o'clock." He muttered to himself. "It's too damn hot out here to be doing anything."

Suddenly he heard a man's voice calling out for him. "Dr. Jones! Oh Dr. Jones!"

Indiana dusted himself off and stood to his feet, not really wanting to greet the visitor; an Ethiopian man, middle aged, and about half Indiana's height, but only a bit pudgy around the waist. The visitor wore a white, but dusty-looking business suit, and a red and white striped Arabian veil to cover his head from the Sun.

"My name is Amare." He said, taking a few short breaths. Apparently he had run all the way from his Jeep to the tent. Finally gaining composure, he extended his hand to meet Jones's.

"I'm from the University in Cairo. I've heard many great things about you, and I can finally say that it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise…" Jones replied curtly, as they shook hands. This honestly wasn't the time or the weather for informal introductions. The scorching heat almost made it feel as if it were an inferno, but he and his team were almost close enough to making a historical breakthrough with finding artifacts of ancient Cairo.

"I've been looking everywhere for you Dr. Jones…you see, my team from the university has just recently uncovered a very interesting yet valuable artifact in The Valley of the Kings. We would be honored for you to take a look at it."

Again, Indiana wiped the sweat from his brow; it was way too hot out. But he was sure that the rest of his team would be fine. As the two came out of the tent-the only source of shade, Indiana followed Amare from the tent to his jeep; he sat in the passenger's seat which immediately burned his bottom; he didn't realize that the leather from the seat was already heated up from the sun. The jeep started up, and they were on their way. Indiana enjoyed the feel of the wind hitting him in the face; it was the only temporary remedy available from the heat.

"So, what is it you want me to take a look at?" He finally asked.

"An amulet! One of the interns found it. We think it dates back to the time of the Middle Kingdom, or maybe later than that."

"Oh really? What makes you think that?" Asked Jones. The jeep suddenly sped over a sandy bump causing the two men to sail up two inches from their seats; Indie held on to his hat and the dashboard to avoid falling out of the jeep.

"The etchings on the amulet signify it." Amare replied confidently. His hands loosely grasped the wheels of the automobile, turning left and right fluently almost as if the jeep were driving itself.

"You mean like hieroglyphics?"

"Yes. I'll show you when we get to the site. It was found right next to a small tomb near the Valley of the Kings." Amare explained. "Of course the location of the tomb brings questions to everyone's mind; the tomb is underground and poorly kept."

"Ah, grave robbers…the grave robbers must have gotten to it." Indiana assumed. "It happens all the time. King Ramses tomb for example-"

"Not this one!" Amare interrupted. " This tomb was just discovered recently, and as an oath of secrecy, everyone is supposed to keep their mouths shut."

A smirk rolled across Indie's face. For what the tomb is worth inside, he knew for certain that no one would want to keep their mouths shut. For all he knew, every archeologist, historian and treasure hunter, would be tailing after the project to see the wonders of the unknown that were carefully nestled inside.

"...So much for oath." He muttered in amusement.

When they finally reached their destination, Amare got out of the Jeep and escorted Indiana to the intern who found the amulet.

"Dr. Jones, this is Ramses. He found the amulet." Amare said, placing his hand on the intern's shoulder. A small poof of dust appeared from his shoulder, as he was still digging for artifacts. Ramses was no more than 23 years old, and very handsome. His blue eyes, mostly from his mother's side, shined like sapphires outstaging his Sunkist skin.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Jones. Yes, I did find the amulet. And its really interesting. It's a lotus made of pure gold, but it has some hyrogryphics that date from the time of when the temple of Karnack was built."

Indie put his hand to his chin, as he gave the amulet a look-over. "Odd. What's an amulet, dating from the times of Karnack doing in a place like this?"

Not trying to think about it too much, He flipped the item over and studied the back. It was absolutely beautiful and in one piece. Studying the Hyrogryphics, he could make out one or two syllables.

"Okay, I think I can translate it. This windpipe and heart means "goodness or beauty" and this one right here… I don't know. I think it means…"

"It's a poem." A woman interrupted. The men turned their attention to a long haired woman by the name of Alicia Vanhousen. She walked over and yanked the amulet from Indie's hands, and read it aloud.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.….Nefrit.." She stopped for a moment, and tried to read the rest. "I can't read this part, it seems to be smudged or something. But the rest of it seems fine. But it talks about undying love, and affection. Something like a love letter in the form of a poem."

"Well… Thank you Alicia." Ramses said with a smile. She of course smiled back and walked back to continue her work.

"Who and what is she?" Indiana asked. Still a bit surprised.

"Oh, she's a professor in ancient literature and history….I didn't know she could translate that. Hmm, guess you learn something new every day." Amare commented.

"Well, back to the task at hand," Indie said clearing his throat. "Ramses, can you show me where you found the amulet?"

"Of course, Dr. Jones. Just grab a flash light and follow me."


End file.
